Promoting wellbeing at university: The role of resilience for students of the built environment

Resilience is positively linked to academic engagement and achievement, and contributes to students' mental health and wellbeing. Research was undertaken to measure the resilience of students undertaking studies in the built environment, identify the factors which contribute to high or low levels of student resilience and explore the relationship between resilience and wellbeing. Survey data were collected from 410 undergraduate students from Melbourne, Australia. Results identified that of the six components of resilience, students scored highest on building networks, staying healthy, interacting cooperatively and living authentically, and lowest in maintaining perspective. Experience, university policy and the interaction between the university, work and home environments was found to contribute to student resilience. Results also identified that resilience is an antecedent of student wellbeing. A conceptual model of resilience and student wellbeing is presented which draws on the ecological systems model. Universities can actively support student wellbeing by fostering resilience. Resilience can be developed by embedding resilience-building strategies within course structures, learning activities and assessment tasks. Universities can implement policies and procedures and offer assets and resources which create a learning environment that supports resilience-building behaviour.